The Kansas legislature has passed SB 124, a bill that would modify the Kansas Antitrust Act in several material ways. The legislation is expected to be signed into law by the Governor.
The legislation was precipitated by a Kansas Supreme Court decision last year – O’Brien v. Leegin – in which the Kansas Supreme Court chose not to follow the US Supreme Court’s 2007 Leegin decision, which declared minimum resale price maintenance agreements subject to the rule of reason, rather than per se condemnation. The Kansas Supreme Court instead held that, under the Kansas Antitrust Act, such conduct remained per se unlawful. SB 124 would provide for rule of reason treatment of many potential violations, including RPM. In addition, the legislation also modifies the Kansas Act’s damages provision, making it a bit more closely aligned with the manner in which damages are calculated under federal law. The text of SB 124 can be found at the link set forth below.
http://www.kslegislature.org/li/b2013_14/measures/sb124/
Posted by Jim Burns
AT_LEG 